BWC/MSP/2014/6 Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction 17 February 2015 English only 2014 Meeting Geneva, 1-5 December 2014 Item 14 of the agenda Adoption of the report of the meeting Explanation of the position by the Russian Federation Submitted by the Russian Federation 1. At its closing day on December 5, 2014, the Meeting of States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention adopted its report by consensus, as contained in document BWC/MSP/2014/CRP.4, as orally amended, to be issued as document BWC/MSP/2014/5. 2. The nature of document BWC/MSP/2014/CRP.4, dated 5 December 2014, is mostly procedural because substantive paragraphs 19 through 45, as indicated in its text, were supposed to be inserted once negotiations arrived at a successful conclusion. However, finding consensus proved to be difficult and this prompted the Chairman of the meeting, Ambassador Urs Schmid of Switzerland, to propose adoption of the substantive text as Chairman’s report under his own responsibility. It was so decided. Only with this understanding the Russian delegation supported the adoption of the report of the meeting. 3. Therefore, it is surprising that a document BWC/MSP/2014/5, dated 15 December 2014, fails to take due account of the above mentioned sequence of events. Its substantive paragraphs 19 through 59 should have been appended to the approved report of the meeting (as contained in document BWC/MSP/2014/CRP.4, as orally amended) as Chairman’s report prepared under his own responsibility. Instead, they form the body of the report as if being approved by the meeting. 4. In light of this, the Russian Federation suggests that an appropriate corrigendum be issued to document BWC/MSP/2014/5, dated 15 December 2014. At any rate, the Russian Federation considers paragraphs 19 through 59 of the above document as having no approved status, and, therefore, no commitments may arise from therein. GE.15-02707 (E) 